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Tony Holland
Tony Holland (born Anthony John Holland in Shoeburyness, Essex on 18th January 1940, died 28th November 2007) was a scriptwriter, script editor and one of the co-creators of EastEnders who contributed 17 scripts to show, as well as the spin-off CivvyStreet in 1988, and script edited 116 episodes from the shows initial launch in February 1985 to March 1986. Tony was brought up in an army family and in his early years attended more than twenty schools. Tony was to follow in his father's footsteps and took an apprenticeship in the Royal Army Medical Corps. As well as this, Tony began performing in revues and plays, which subsequently led to him winning a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Tony then began his career as an actor in 1966, by appearing in a Doctor Who episode. He went on to appear in the 1967 show The Wednesday Play. In the same year and following his appearance on The Wednesday Play, Tony developed his own play, entitled The Isle is Full of Noises. The play was taken up by the BBC and was produced by Thirty-Minute Theatre. It was from there that Tony's career as a scriptwriter and script editor blossomed. Having also realised that he enjoyed script editing just as much as scriptwriting, Tony made a sensible move into television. He first wrote for Z Cars in 1962, and then in 1970 began script editing for the show, a role which he continued to hold until 1973. It was on Z Cars that Tony met co-creator Julia Smith, a talented director and producer, and a formidable partnership evolved. Tony and Julia proceeded to work together in the mid-1970s on the BBC hospital drama Angels. It was there that the pair developed the show into a bi-weekly serial format of half-hour episodes. In addition to Tony's commitment to Angels, he was also employed by Thames Television to work on shows commissioned by them, including their 1976 drama Life and Death of Penelope, on which he was the story editor of the show. In 1983, Tony and Julia devised a new BBC series, entitled The District Nurse. It was here that Tony had earned himself the nickname "Mr Meticulous". By 1984, Tony was script editing on BBC show Cold Warrior. It was in 1983 that Tony and Julia were approached by the BBC, tasked with producing a new programme for their channel, a bi-weekly soap opera which would rival long-established ITV dramas, including Coronation Street, Crossroads and Emmerdale Farm. Tony and Julia were to create a new serial based on modern day London, as it was, back in 1983. Together, the duo came up with the idea of a programme which was set in a Victorian Square within the East End of London, and focused on its close working-class families. Thus, EastEnders was born. Tony and Julia both wanted the primary focus of the show to be on a large extended family, which was representative of the type most typically found in the East End of London. Having come from a large London family himself, Tony had a wealth of experience in understanding what type of characters would exist. Some of the show's characters that he created: Lou Beale, Pete Beale and Pauline Fowler, were based on his real-life family members, who also shared the same names in real-life, while Angie and Den Watts were created based on his experience as a barman in London pubs and clubs. Tony was the show's first script editor, and was adamant from the show's inception that every aspect of every story they told would be properly examined and researched from as many viewpoints as possible in order to make the show as realistic as possible. This proved popular with the public, especially when the show was praised by many viewers for the accuracy and sensitivity involved in a cot-death storyline, which aired in June 1985, and saw characters Ali and Sue Osman lose their son Hassan Osman. He was later appointed the role of series script editor. In addition to his role as script editor, Tony was also a scriptwriter on the show, contributing several scripts between 1985 and 1989. Tony proved an immensely talented writer for the show, and it was his script which aired on 25th December 1986 that broke soap record viewing figures, with over 30 million viewers tuning in on Christmas Day to watch Den Watts serve Angie Watts divorce papers following a turbulent year for the couple's already fractured marriage. In 1989, Tony and Julia both decided to leave the show following a clash with BBC bosses over whether Leslie Grantham could return to the soap following his exit in the February of that year. Following his departure from EastEnders, Tony was approached by Ireland's national broadcaster, RTÉ, to give their new soap opera, Fair City, its structure and storylines to see it through its first series. Then, in 1991, Tony and Julia were rehired by the BBC to produce a new soap opera for their channel. Tony wanted to call the new soap opera "Little England". He envisioned the soap opera being set in Spain in an expatriate community. However, BBC bosses did not like this title, and Eldorado was the result. The soap opera was short-lived - axed in July 1993 - and received heavy criticism from the viewing public. In 2001, Tony was awarded the Special Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards. In May 2007, Tony entered a civil partnership with Paul Wade. He died on 28th November 2007, after a long illness. The following episode, broadcast on 29th November 2007, was dedicated to him. Episodes written by Tony Holland 1985 (1 episode) *Episode 66 (3rd October 1985) 1986 (5 episodes) *Episode 183 (18th November 1986) *Episode 184 (20th November 1986) *Episode 185 (25th November 1986) *Episode 194 (25th December 1986) *Episode 195 (25th December 1986) 1987 (3 episodes) *Episode 280 (20th October 1987) *Episode 281 (22nd October 1987) *Episode 286 (10th November 1987) 1988 (6 episodes) *Episode 361 (21st July 1988) *Episode 362 (26th July 1988) *Episode 363 (28th July 1988) *Episode 371 (25th August 1988) *Episode 383 (6th October 1988) *Episode 405 (22nd December 1988) 1989 (2 episodes) *Episode 409 (5th January 1989) *Episode 420 (14th February 1989) Spin-offs *CivvyStreet Episodes script edited by Tony Holland 1985 (91 episodes) *All episodes between Episode 1 (19th February 1985) and Episode 91 (31st December 1985) 1986 (25 episodes) *All episodes between Episode 92 (2nd January 1986) and Episode 116 (27th March 1986) Category:EastEnders writers Category:EastEnders script editors Category:EastEnders story consultants